Charles Schwab, the giant US brokerage with 13 trillion dollars in client assets, is adding Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink to its crypto trading platform — the clearest sign yet that mainstream finance is moving beyond just Bitcoin and Ether.
By Diego Rivera | August 27, 2026
The Hook: Your Stock Broker Just Became an Altcoin Exchange
US financial services giant Charles Schwab plans to add Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), and Chainlink (LINK) to its crypto trading platform in the coming months, expanding its direct cryptocurrency offering beyond Bitcoin and Ether, according to Cointelegraph.
This is a big deal for altcoin holders. Schwab is not a crypto startup chasing hype — it is one of the largest brokerages in America, and until recently it treated crypto as something to be kept at arm’s length. Now millions of everyday investors will be able to buy three of the most widely held altcoins from the same app they use to buy index funds and check their retirement accounts.
The Backstory: From Bitcoin-Only to a Real Menu
Schwab Crypto began rolling out to retail clients in May, initially offering direct Bitcoin and Ether trading alongside traditional investments through Schwab’s website, mobile app, and thinkorswim platform. The brokerage said from the start that it planned to add more cryptocurrencies over time, though it never named which ones — until now.
- Solana — the high-speed blockchain that has become a favorite for payments and decentralized apps.
- Avalanche — a rival smart-contract network focused on speed and customization for institutions.
- Chainlink — the data-feed network that connects blockchains to real-world information like prices and sports scores.
There is a catch for some customers: the service is available in all US states except New York and Louisiana, and it is not offered in US territories or internationally. Schwab charges 75 basis points (0.75 percent) on the dollar value of each crypto trade — simple to understand, but notably higher than the rock-bottom fees on its stock trades. The accounts are offered through Charles Schwab Premier Bank, with the affiliated brokerage performing certain operational functions.
Why These Three Coins?
The selection tells you where Wall Street sees the crypto market heading. Solana has established itself as a serious infrastructure network, and its recent network activity has been setting records. Avalanche has courted institutional projects, particularly around tokenizing real-world assets. Chainlink, meanwhile, is the quiet plumbing of the industry — its oracles feed data to DeFi protocols, tokenized funds, and increasingly to traditional finance pilots.
For regular investors, the practical effect is legitimacy and convenience. When a coin is listed by a major brokerage, it gets exposed to a vastly larger pool of retirement-adjacent money, and it survives a due-diligence process that many smaller tokens would fail. That does not make any of these coins safe — altcoins remain far more volatile than Bitcoin — but it does make them easier to access for people who never wanted to deal with a standalone crypto exchange.
The Bigger Picture: Schwab Is Building a Trading Supermarket
The crypto expansion is part of a broader push into new trading products. In June, The Wall Street Journal reported that Schwab plans to offer prediction contracts tied to the S&P 500 index through a partnership with Cboe Global Markets. The contracts would let clients wager on whether the S&P 500 closes above or below a specified level — though unlike platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, Schwab’s offering would initially be limited to index outcomes.
The numbers behind the push are staggering. As of July 31, Schwab held 13.04 trillion dollars in client assets across 39.9 million active brokerage accounts, according to the company. It also reported record second-quarter net revenue of 7.1 billion dollars and net income of 2.8 billion dollars. Even a tiny fraction of that client base dabbling in altcoins would represent meaningful new demand for SOL, AVAX, and LINK.
What This Means for Your Portfolio
If you already hold Solana, Avalanche, or Chainlink, Schwab’s listing is a long-term positive: it deepens the pool of potential buyers and signals that these assets are clearing institutional hurdles. If you are considering a first altcoin purchase, it also means you can soon do it inside an account with familiar protections and statements — just mind the 0.75 percent fee, which can add up on larger trades.
The move also raises competitive pressure across the industry. Morgan Stanley has been piloting crypto trading through E*Trade, and rival platforms are racing to add digital assets. When the biggest brokers compete on crypto access, fees tend to fall and menus tend to grow — good news for retail investors everywhere.
The Verdict
Schwab adding three altcoins to a platform serving nearly 40 million accounts is another step in crypto’s march into the financial mainstream. Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink just got a Wall Street stamp of accessability — now it is up to the networks, and the market, to justify the invitation.
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
75 basis points per trade is rough when coinbase advanced sits around 0.06%. paying for the thinkorswim convenience i guess
^ this. boomer money does not read fee schedules, they pay it and never notice
75 bps vs coinbase at 0.06% and people will still pay it because their ira is already there. convenience is the moat
the 0.06 percent assumes anyone reads fee schedules. most schwab buyers will never once open the advanced tab
75 bps on a boomer avax bag, brutal. coinbase advanced at 0.06 sits right there and they will still never open it, convenience wins every time
75bps is exactly what my dad pays without blinking because moving his ira sounds like work. schwab knows its customer
your dad and my uncle are the reason 75bps survives. the fee schedule might as well be written in latin
^ and schwab has never competed on fees, they compete on my advisor already knows me. 75bps will print regardless
my retirement app listing AVAX before a US spot ETF exists was not on my 2026 bingo card
meanwhile NY and Louisiana still locked out. always us lol
same in hawaii last time i checked. land of the free except the freedom to buy an l1 lol
always us. by the time NY sorts its licensing out the listing pump will be long gone and we buy the top
by the time NY licensing sorts out SOL will have done the whole move and exited stage left. we always buy the top with extra steps
13 trillion under management and they are only now adding three altcoins. still, thinkorswim traders getting direct sol exposure is a big deal for liquidity.
the liquidity point is underrated. schwab has tens of millions of accounts, even a tiny fraction dabbling in sol after this rolls out is real order flow
schwab adding LINK of all things is the surprise here. oracles are the least understood corner of crypto and now every retirement account can yolo into it
LINK makes sense once you remember schwab buyers love a staking yield pitch. the oracle stuff is just the wrapper
watch avax volume do nothing for a month and then spike the day schwab flips the switch lol
13 trillion in assets and the rollout is still coming months. by the time NY clients can even buy AVAX there will be three SOL ETFs
the NY exclusion part is what gets me. biggest state by wealth management AUM and LINK buyers there get to wait months lol
Thinkorswim charting meeting direct SOL trading is the sleeper detail here. Active traders rarely leave that platform once they are set up
coming months is doing heavy lifting here. the announcement moved SOL on day one and half the states cant even access it yet
the months long rollout matters. anyone who read the cointelegraph drop will front run launch day, the schwab buyers arrive late and pay the top
front running schwab launch day is the trade for anyone fast. the real volume shows up when the retirees do, months late and top tick
LINK on a retirement platform before a spot chainlink ETF even exists. 2026 keeps outdoing itself